Behind a strong effort from the team’s girls, the Cardinals earned their eighth straight San Diego Section team title on Friday at Mira Mesa High, besting upset-minded Crawford 13-4.

Hoover finishes the spring without a loss, its second consecutive undefeated season.

“Hey, we got four games off Hoover. That’s pretty good,” said Colts coach Yee Yang, a 2007 Crawford graduate whose trio of boys doubles teams swept their matches, causing the Cardinals to sweat just a little bit after taking a 7-1 lead through the match’s opening boys and girls singles play.

“Even though we lost, we lost with great pride. Last year against them, we didn’t get a point at all,” Yang said of the Colts’ 17-0 loss to the Cardinals in the 2012 finals.

Outstanding girls play in singles and doubles, which has carried Hoover much of the year, did so again as Gina Niph, Whitney Gonzales, Thuong Nguyen and Thuy Mai quickly swept their singles matches. Niph and Nguyen at No. 1 doubles were the only girls duo needing three games to win.

“We had a good season,” said Mai, a senior who plays No. 4 singles and teams with Gonzales at No. 2 doubles. “Today everyone was hyped up and had more adrenaline than usual. All our sweat, all our effort has paid off.”

Cardinals coach Vu Nguyen, a 1996 Hoover alum, said the team had planned from the beginning of the season to finish on top, again.

“Every year, we always have the expectation that we will win it all,” Vu Nguyen said. “But this year, it was tougher. Our ladies carried the load this year, and they deserve (the title).”

With 10 of Hoover’s 33 players graduating this year, is a ninth championship in the coach’s thoughts yet?

“No promises,” Nguyen said, laughing. “We’ll know more next year. We’ll wait and see, but we always hope for the best.”